CATEGORIES

The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami Turns out the guy who recommended Murakami for Book Club was right – Norwegian Wood is much better than Sputnik Sweetheart (thank goodness), and my review of it will be up soon. I’ve already been recommended another one by him, in fact – The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. A [...]

I’m reading seven (yes, SEVEN) books at the moment. It’s no better than a tragedy. I am shameless – I’m putting down one book for a moment only to rip into another book the next. I’m carrying a different one in my handbag on the bus and leaving it in my drawer at work so [...]

Isn’t it absolutely despicable when someone promises something and then doesn’t deliver on that promise? Like how I said that Sundays would be reserved for fairytale-themed posts, and then haven’t posted on fairytales on Sundays since. So I thought I’d start making it up to you, today, by letting you into the secret room of [...]

I promised myself that after reading the desolate, desolate Oryx and Crake, I would turn my thoughts to dystopian novels that are more reasonable. Whatever that means. Super Sad True Love Story seemed like one such ‘reasonable’ dystopian, but in retrospect it has affected me just as much as Atwood’s, though not in entirely the [...]

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is one of those literary phenomenons. You know the ones – plucked from relative obscurity, a story that doesn’t seem like it would appeal to the masses somehow does, and before you know it millions of copies are sold and book clubs everywhere are discussing it and your friend tells [...]

Pressure Pressing down on me Pressing down on you Wherever you have the opportunity to quote something by the immortal David Bowie, do. Freddie Mercury? Ditto. The reason I’ve started this post with song lyrics (accompanying a tune which is now stuck in your head, most probably), is that I’m feeling – you guessed it [...]

Is there anything that screams danger and adventure in books more than a journey by ocean? For my birthday recently, my best bud contributed to my growing Penguin collection, by presenting me with The Odyssey, by Homer. As you can see by the picture to our left, the cover is gorgeously patterned waves of aqua [...]

I reserve Sundays for fairytale reading. Whether it’s a traditional Grimms’, or a new adaptation of a known tale, there’s nothing better than curling up with a hot chocolate and a cupcake in your favourite chair, and following that breadcrumbed path through the woods, and out into another world. And I figure – since I [...]

I’m reading Oryx and Crake at the moment. Margaret Atwood is quite possibly in my top 5 favourite authors of all time (I count The Blind Assassin as my most cherished of her works so far, though I have the highest admiration for The Handmaid’s Tale and will be reading The Robber Bride next), but [...]

I tried. I really did. Remember how I said in this post that I was 99% sure Michelle Moran would handle writing a book on the French Revolution with ease? Well, I must have had a premonition to leave out that remaining 1%, because unfortunately, this read did not live up to expectation. I have [...]

I follow the Penguin Publishers tribe of deliciously-bound books – and when a new one is released, I get a little bit giddy. Can you really blame me? We’ve already marveled over the Coralie Bickford-Smith clothbound covers, the 75 year special releases, and I think these new ones will sell particularly well with the current [...]

The Times says Skippy Dies is a “carnival of a novel”. It says so on the cover. And The Times is right: the nostalgic sweetness of fairy floss in your mouth, the heated competition of the sideshows, the risk of life on the rollercoasters, the contentedness of the ferris wheel and the fear of ghosts [...]

Have you ever joined a book club? They’re not just for retired ladies anymore. Everything “old” is cool again: vintage fashion will now cost you an arm and a leg, you’ll find girls happily taking up knitting on the bus to work, and chardonnay is clawing its way back onto the wine charts of the [...]

    I know I’ve got two brilliant covers of Game of Thrones up there, and I promise I’ll get to the book later in the post, but first of all I want to make reference to another book I’m reading right now, and how it relates to the subject matter I’m wanting to discuss [...]

“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” – C.S. Lewis. The Horse and His Boy represents a different direction for the Narnia books. The two previous works [...]

By now, I suspect you’re well enough acquainted with my passion for Marie Antoinette. Since she turned up randomly in an illustration from my Treasury of Fairytales when I was quite small I’ve been a fan, and since then my love has grown – I’ve even got two pug-breed dogs in honour of her own [...]

There is nothing more unbecoming in a lady, not thievery, not fraud, not murder, than being held accountable for the crime. Or so it seems in the Victorian sensationalist novel, Lady Audley’s Secret. Mary Elizabeth Braddon, the famous author of this book, made a practice of writing stories that were considered popular culture for the [...]

They say the sense of smell is the most powerful of our five human senses, because it’s most strongly related to our understanding of memory. I’m inclined to agree – one whiff of Australis Waterberry deodorant, for example, and I’m transported immediately into our Year 9 post-P.E. girls changerooms (not the best memory, but hey, [...]

The books I’ve received lately have been from publishers, which gives them that extra bit of sparkle when they arrive in the letterbox. The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar I am quite sure I’ve discussed Martin Millar’s Lonely Werewolf Girl on the blog before, which is funny in itself since I’ve never [...]

My dear Lucy, I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be [...]

You may have seen, or at least heard of, ‘Big Love’, the TV series starring Bill Paxton as the paternal head of a four-wife family. The series somehow manages to showcase the humour and the love as well as the jealousy between multiple wives sharing one (very busy) hubby. And while I would occasionally watch [...]

Part 2 of my delicious recent acquisitions! Feast your eyes on these babies! The Magician’s Book by Laura Miller – reading through the Chronicles of Narnia for the Reading Challenge has not only renewed the love that lay dormant in my heart for Aslan and Mr Tumnus and even Jadis, it’s also set me on [...]

I haven’t done one of these ‘Recent Acquisitions’ posts in a while, but I’ve definitely still been receiving books at a fairly rapid rate. I’ve chosen my most anticipated reads for this two-part post…I hope there are some in there you’re eagerly anticipating reading too, or at least are inspired to learn more about them! [...]

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it’s an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now [...]

“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly event hosted by Sheila at Bookjourney to share with others what you’ve read the past week and planning to read next. Finished The Seventh Wave, by Paul Garrety The 19th Wife, by David Ebershoff Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua White is for [...]

To coincide with the end of the Beneath the Shadows giveaway, Perth-based author Sara Foster herself has dropped by the blog to talk a bit about how it was writing Beneath the Shadows…(isn’t she gorge?) Q: Sara, Beneath the Shadows is your second novel, after your debut Come Back to Me. Are you able to [...]

Ah, Ezio. *Heart flutters* The type of man who can scale buildings with the greatest of ease, assassinate baddies dual-weapon-style by ground or by rooftop, have his wounds treated by a doctor friend and still turn up on your bedroom balcony by nightfall. Swoon. The only problem is that he’s a character from a video [...]

“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” ~ C. S. Lewis There is an endless bounty of amazing quotes from the brain of C.S. Lewis. I’ll choose an appropriate one for each book in the series as I fondly work my way through [...]

Obligatory Warning: Spoilers will be a necessary part of the discussion of this novel, so if you are interested in reading Villette for yourself you may wish to bookmark these discussion posts and read them AFTER you have read the novel. It’s only Week 2 of the read-along and I already like this book far [...]

Peruse bookshelves at any large bookstore and you’ll most likely see Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver, centre-stage and hyped to the hilt. I haven’t had the chance to read it yet, but I remember it creating quite the sensation a year back when early-bird bloggers were receiving review copies. Delirium is Lauren Oliver’s new creation [...]

Warning: Spoilers will be a necessary part of the discussion of this novel, so if you are interested in reading Villette for yourself you may wish to bookmark these discussion posts and read them AFTER you have read the novel. As far as I’m concerned, you fall into one of two groups with the Brontes: [...]

February’s read-along choice over at A Literary Odyssey is Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. This time, participants will be reading the book in three parts: Thoughts on Chapters 1- 22 will be posted on participating blogs on February 8. Thoughts on Chapters 23 – 37 will be posted on participating blogs on February 17. Thoughts [...]

“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly event hosted by Sheila at Bookjourney to share with others what you’ve read the past week and planning to read next. Finished Beatrice and Virgil, by Yann Martel Delirium, by Lauren Oliver Skippy Dies, by Paul Murray Pilgrims, by Will Elliott Plugging Along The Magician, by [...]

Ohhh, I don’t really mean that. But I have to admit that the vampire fad has stayed around a lot longer than one would have expected. A few more years and the Twilight movies and their spinoffs will have run out – then it will be time to take note of the vampire’s true staying [...]

Spread the word – we have another giveaway on the main blog. I know, I know, ANOTHER giveaway. The two lucky winners will each receive the latest releases from Aussie fantasy authors Will Elliott and Nicole Murphy: Pilgrims and Shadow from the Pendulum trilogy, and Secret Ones and Power Unbound from the Dream of Asarlai [...]

Alas, this is the final part to the three-part interview featuring Nicole Murphy, author of Secret Ones and Power Unbound. If you’d like to learn more about the author or the series, she’s also got a featured website and a regularly updated blog which you can access here. But before you do that, check out [...]

Aaaaand we’re back, like I promised, with the second of a three-part interview with Aussie author Nicole Murphy! 4. What can fans of Secret Ones expect from Power Unbound? The same mix of magic, romance, adventure and mystery but this time focussing on Maggie’s best friend Ione and her new love, Stephen. Oh, and by [...]

This woman is fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Nicole Murphy hails from a location close to me (Queanbeyan) and her hubby is – get this, you fellow Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland fans – one of the top croquet players in Oz. Well, get your flamingo mallets ready, cos we’re lucky enough to have Nicole Murphy on the [...]

Today’s special guest on the blog is Brisbane author Will Elliott. He’s stopped by to have a quick chat – his Pendulum trilogy is a creepalicious brand of fantasy, beginning with Pilgrims and continuing with the recent release of Shadow. Now Will, I read somewhere online that you’re not into “genre labels”…how would you then [...]

We resume discussion of The Woman in White by the indomitable Wilkie Collins today, specifically the second half of the book. If you happened to miss the first part of my discussion (detailing the story/characters up to page 309 in my edition of the book), you can access that discussion post first, by clicking here. [...]